Everything For A Price
by Tate Icasa
Summary: After their high school graduation, Odd made a mistake that split the group up. Now, five years later, they meet up again at a high school reunion. Can a reformed Sissy help Odd repair the damage he caused, or is the price too high?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: It's called fanfiction _because_ we don't own it. If we owned it, it would be called canon.

Everything For A Price

By. Tate Icasa

Chapter One: Arrival

23-year-old Odd Della Robbia parked his car near the front of the building.

He picked up a folded slip of paper from the empty seat next to him and read it again:

_Kadic Academy_

_Class of 2010_

_5 Year Reunion_

"This is it." He said softly, stepping outside. He walked up to the gate, looked inside, and rested his head against the stone wall.

"Afraid to go in?" Asked a voice behind him.

He turned, and found himself staring into the eyes of a black-haired girl. It took him a second to recognize her.

"Sissy?"

"I go by Elisabeth now, but yes, it's me." She said.

He smiled weakly. "I haven't spoken to any of them since. . ." He trailed off shrugging. "What about you? Why are you out here?"

She shrugged.

There was a moment of silence.

"You've changed." Sissy observed.

"So have you."

"I think we all did." Sissy said quietly. "Come on, let's go inside."

He let her lead him through the crowd of people.

"There, that's better." She said finally. "So, what are you doing for a living?"

He shook his head.

"Here comes Jeremy." Sissy said, fumbling with something in her pocket. She pressed a card into his hand and flashed a smile. "If you ever need to talk, come see me." And she disappeared into the crowd.

He pocketed the card without looking at it and turned to face his blond haired. . .acquaintance.

"Jeremy." He said.

"Odd."

"It's been a long time."

"I know."

"How are you?"

"As well as can be expected. You?"

Odd shrugged.

"We haven't spoken much over the last few years, have we?"

"We got out of habit." Odd said. He didn't voice the rest of the thought, but Jeremy heard it anyway. _You wouldn't speak to me_.

"So."

"So."

"I don't blame you." Jeremy said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"For. . .what happened back then. I don't blame you."

"Oh. Well, thanks."

"You're welcome."

"I'm gonna go see if I can find Ulrich."

"He's over there." Jeremy said, pointing.

"Thanks."

Jeremy nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

Review Replies:

**Angels 'n Dreams: **Wonder a little while longer, ok? I think that'll be revealed in chapter 3.

**Mylinda Antoinette:** Here's what happens next.

**Limited Heart:** Thank you, and I will.

**KFan II:** I won't take offense at that. . .but it's not gonna be boring for much longer.

**hearts and flowers:** I'm continuing.

**Amaherst: **Thankies and I'm updating!

Chapter Two:

Ulrich frowned when he saw Odd approaching.

"What do you want?" He muttered.

"I just want to talk."

"I don't want to talk to you Odd." Ulrich said, turning around.

"We haven't spoken in five years."

"Then make it another five." Ulrich spat. "I'm not ready to forgive you yet, so just go away."

Odd nodded slowly. He walk away, and kept walking all the way to his car.

Three days later. . .

Odd woke up in a cold sweat, shaking. Just like he always did.

Just like he had every morning for the last five years.

He had nightmares. Terrible nightmares.

The kind that came from screwing up as horribly as he had and being unable to talk about it because the only people it's safe to tell won't speak to you.

"I have to talk to someone." He whispered, the same way he did every morning. Only this time he had an idea.

'_If you ever need to talk, come see me.'_

Stumbling, half awake and still nearly panic-stricken, he fumbled to pull the card Sissy had given him out of his coat pocket, and began to dial the phone.


	3. Chapter 3

Review Replies:

**Amaherst:** Ok, ok, I'll stop torturing you now. This chapter and the next are basically about 'five years ago.'

Chapter Three:

Odd stood alone in the cemetery.

He stared at the grouping of tombstones. The final result of the war.

He pulled his coat around him.

A car pulled up behind him, but he didn't turn around. He already knew who it was.

"You wanted me to meet you here?" Elisabeth asked.

He nodded.

She followed his gaze to the tombstones.

"There was nothing you could have done."

"Yes there was."

And he started to tell her about Lyoko.

Later. . .

"I got back together with Samantha during our Junior Year, you know that. . .And she joined us soon after. We were winning, basically. . ."

**Flashback**

_Odd slammed around a corner as fast as he could and collided with Samantha._

"_Sorry." He said._

_She nodded. "I was coming to visit you anyway." She said, picking up her papers. "I thought of something, but I need to go to Sector 5 to check it out."_

"_Right." He said, taking her hand a helping her up. "Lets go ask Jeremy if he can transfer us."_

_She nodded and followed him._

Later on Lyoko, in Carthage. . .

_Aelita, Odd, Samantha, and Ulrich had gone to Carthage. Yumi had remained behind in cases something happened on Earth._

"_There." Ulrich said, pointing._

_The others nodded, and soon they had opened the corridor to the interface._

"_Keep an eye out for the Mantas." Jeremy warned._

"_Well duh." Samantha said, watching over Aelita's shoulder. At times she pointed to a screen and Aelita would expand it._

"_Hurry up, girls." Ulrich said tersely a few minutes later. "They're hatching."_

"_It's got to be here." Samantha muttered._

"_What does?" Odd asked._

"_I got it!" Aelita exclaimed. "Jeremy, I'm sending it to you now. Open a passage so we can get out."_

"_Done. The northeasters passage is open."_

"_Vehicles?"_

"_On the way._

_A second later, three vehicles appeared._

**End Flashback**

"What did she find?" Elisabeth asked.

"What she'd expected." He said, sighing. "A tower in Sector 5. The one that contained the Xana virus."

"Which means?"

"If we deactivated it, Xana would cease to exist. So we went back the next day. That was when. . .when. . ."

"I'm sorry." She said. "You don't have to continue."

"Yes I do." He whispered, sitting down.

She sat beside him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

**Flashback**

_They had all gone to Lyoko the next day. The day of graduation, right after they had graduated. It didn't take them long to get to the interface._

"_Ok, Jeremy, can you open the northwest passage?" Aelita asked._

"_I'm working on it, and here come your vehicles."_

"_Thanks."_

_And soon enough they were in a huge chamber with a larger than usual, blood-red glowing tower._

"_Hurry, Aelita." _

"_Look out guys, you have Creepers coming."_

"_Got it." Yumi said, holding her fans._

_The others got ready as Aelita entered the tower._

**End Flashback**

"We. . .we fought the creepers for a long time, but they kept coming. Soon, we were backed against the tower. Jeremy told us that Aelita was having trouble deactivating the tower. Ulrich was devirtualized. Yumi went into the tower to check on Aelita, and when the mega-tanks came I knocked Samantha into the tower as well."

"What happened?"

"I was devirtualized. I found Ulrich and Jeremy unconscious. Jeremy. . .he had the return to the past programmed. . .all that had to be done was pushing the button. . .I could have done it. . ."

"But you didn't."

"No. I. . .I thought the girls could handle it. I thought Samantha and Yumi would leave to tower. . .they didn't. The tower was deactivated moments before it was destroyed. . .with Yumi, Aelita and Samantha inside. . ." His voice cracked for a moment before he continued. "I sent us back. . .I thought maybe they hadn't been killed. . .but they weren't saved. . .they were dead. . .I. . .I killed them. . ." He drew a quivering breath.

Elisabeth wiped a tear from her eye.

"Ulrich hated me. . .He gave me a black eye. . ."

"He _hit_ you?"

Odd nodded. "I made some lame joke. . .and he said. . .he said 'Don't you ever take anything seriously Odd?'. . ."

**Flashback**

"_Yes." Odd said softly._

_Ulrich hit him again. And again. And again._

_Odd never lifted a finger to stop him. It was what he deserved. When Ulrich had stopped he had simply turned and left. Then he turned at the door._

"_I hate you!" He had whispered angrily. ". . .Murderer."_

_Jeremy gave him a sad, almost disappointed look before leaving as well._

"_I'm sorry." Odd called after them. "I'm sorry." He whispered to himself._

**End Flashback**

Odd fell silent, shaking.

"You poor thing." Elisabeth whispered, pulling him to her.

He was trembling violently with the effort to suppress tears.

"I have two degrees in psychology." Elisabeth murmured. "You have to cry sometime or you're never going to heal."

And slowly, Odd began to heal.


	5. Chapter 5

Everything For A Price

By. Tate Icasa

Chapter Five:

Two days later, Elisabeth had Odd meet her by the factory.

"Why here?" He asked.

"What?

"Why here? Of all places, why here?"

"I need to get to Lyoko." Elisabeth said simply. "Something you told me made me wonder."

"Even if the super-calculator and scanners are still around, neither one of us has the brains to use them. The only person I know who ever did was Jeremy."

"You said he left a book of notes."

"He did. But I can't read them. And I doubt you could."

Elisabeth pursed her lips. "Well. . ."

"What?"

"You remember Milly Solovieff and Tamiya Diop?"

"They were the school reporters." Odd said, confused.

"Right. Tamiya went on to become a journalist. But Milly went into computers."

"You think _Milly_ can work the supercomputer?" He said skeptically.

"It's worth a shot." She said. "Besides, I have to try. I have to know."

"Know _what?_" Odd asked.

"If they're really dead." Elisabeth said softly after a second. "You said there was a creature. . .a Guardian?"

"The Guardian Orb." He corrected. "And Jeremy already ran a scan."

"You said yourself that Xana managed to hide things from you before."

Odd sighed.

"Fine. Fine. Call them."

"Them?" Elisabeth asked.

"Milly and Tamiya. A Lyoko team needs four members. One for each scanner and one for the computer. Call them."

"Oh." She took out her phone.

"So," Elisabeth said after Odd had explained things to Milly and Tamiya. "Can you do it?"

"I don't know." Milly said slowly. "I'd have to see the computer and the notes."

"What about you Tamiya?"

"I'd be in no real danger?"

"None."

"Then I'm in."

"Good." Elisabeth said. "Odd, can you take us down to the computer?"


	6. Chapter 6

Everything For A Price

By. Tate Icasa

Chapter Six:

Five weeks of work later, the super-calculator and scanners were fully functional.

Milly sat in front of the computer, Jeremy's notebook in her lap, hands on the keyboard.

"Send me first." Odd said. "Then, one at a time, Elisabeth and Tamiya."

"Got it." Milly said. "Go ahead."

Odd nodded and stepped into the scanner.

"See you in a minute." He said as the doors closed.

"Transfer, Odd. Scanner, Odd. Virtualization." She paused a second. "Did I get it right?"

"Yeah." Odd said, looking around the forest region. "Elisabeth next."

"Transfer, Elisabeth. Scanner, Elisabeth. Virtualization."

There was a long moment of silence.

Then, Elisabeth dropped to the ground beside Odd.

He turned his head, looked her over and nodded once.

She was dressed in an Aelita-style outfit, hot pink and yell. Her long black hair was held back in a ponytail by a yellow ribbon. Her hands were covered in pink gloves with the lines of spikes embedded in them and in one hand she held a long silver whip.

She flicked her wrist once and watched the whip.

"Nice." She said.

"Send Tamiya now." Odd instructed Milly.

"Already working on it. Transfer, Tamiya. Scanner, Tamiya. Virtualization."

A second later, another form dropped down next to them.

Tamiya was dressed in a lavander-colored jumpsuit-like outfit that was lined in silver. In one hand she held a thin, papery square of silver.

"And our vehicles?" Odd requested.

"I'm trying, don't rush me." Milly said.

An overwing and an overboard appeared.

"Sorry, that's the best I can do. There's too much data corruption in the other vehicle's program for me to recreate it without the perfect , original specs. One of you'll have to share."

Odd flipped up onto his overboard and offered his arm to Elisabeth.

"That's more like the Odd I remember." She said, stepping up behind him.

"Hold on." He said. "Which way to the edge of the sector?"

"Take the path to your right."

Odd turned.

"Odd!" Tamiya snapped. "That's left!"

Odd turned around sheepishly and began to the end of the sector.


	7. Chapter 7

Everything For A Price

By. Tate Icasa

Chapter Seven:

Odd circled the platform at the sectors edge once before stopping and helping Elisabeth down, Tamiya behind them. The two vehicles became scratches and flickered away.

"Call up the transporter now, Milly."

"I've got the 'Welcome to Carthage' screen. Password?"

"Scipio. S-c-i-p-i-o."

The white orb rose from beneath the platform and enclosed them before zipping away.

At the computer, Milly smiled triumphantly.

The first corridor opened and they darted inside.

"Four minutes." Milly said.

Odd nodded as his eyes scanned the blue room for the button.

"There." He said, pointing. He jumped to a ledge. "Come on!"

He jumped to the next ledge while the girls followed.

"Three minutes."

More ledges, then a moving platform.

Odd leapt. One hand caught the platform's edge as he missed the landing.

"Odd!" Elisabeth yelled.

"I'm fine!" He muttered, swinging his legs up and flipping onto the platform.

"Two minutes."

The platform touched the other sdie and Odd hit the button.

The floor leveled out and the second corridor opened.

"Let's move." Odd said.

They stood on the interface platform.

"Vehicles." Odd commanded.

"They're coming." Milly said. "Which one of these passages did you want me to open?"

"The northwest."

The vehicles appeared.

"Passage opened." Milly informed them.

"Good." Odd said.

The chamber was huge.

"Here we are." Odd said. He pointed. "The tower was there."

Elisabeth nodded and took a few steps forward.

"Coming?" She asked, half turning. "Odd?"

His eyes were unfocused.

Suddenly he snapped back.

"Duck!" He yelled, pulling her to the ground.

A laser hit the wall behind them.

Odd looked up and pointed.

There was a tarantula standing on the ledge above them.

"I though you said you turned Xana off." Tamiya said worriedly.

"We did." Odd said tersely. "He must have created them before he was destroyed."

The tarantula leaned its head back and shrieked.

"Oh, god." Elisabeth said, taking a step back.

More tarantula's were appearing.

"Looks like Xana had something to hide." Odd said.


	8. Chapter 8

Everything For A Price

By. Tate Icasa

Chapter Eight:

Odd aimed an arrow at the first tarantula.

"Laser Arrow!" He glanced back at Elisabeth and Tamiya. "Come on, help me here!"

"Oh, right." Elisabeth said. She clenched a fist, causing spikes to appear over her knuckles and punched towards a tarantula, causing the spikes to fly through the air.

Tamiya nodded and tossed her paper frisbee.

A few minutes later, Tamiya had been devirtualized and the tarantula's destroyed.

"Let's go." Elisabeth said.

The place where the tower had been was now a deep hole in th eground.

Around the edge was a thin stair case.

Keeping one hand on the wall, they made their way carefully down to a platform.

"What do you suppose we'll find?" Elisabeth asked as they rested.

"In all likelyness, nothing."

"Why do you say that?" Elisabeth said, tipping her head.

"Nevermind."

Elisabeth looked at him for a moment.

"You're afread to get your hopes up. You're afraid. . .that if you do, and I'm wrong. . ."

"How do you know that?"

"I justed. . .looked at you and I knew. Maybe my power is telepathy."

Odd started walking again.

Elisabeth stopped a few feet from the bottom.

"Wait." She said, holding up a hand.

Odd turned. "What is it?"

"I can hear voices. In my mind."

"So, you _can_ read minds."

"Yes, and not just yours. There's someone else here, Odd, and it's not any of the girls."

"I can only think of one person it could be." Odd said.

Milly glanced up from the notebook. "Franz Hopper."

"Exactly." Odd said. "He made contact with us once, through you. Maybe he can do it again."

"He doesn't need to. He's accessing Lyoko through the super-calculator to create a virtual body for himself. Milly, don't interfer."

Milly took her hands off the keyboard as screpts began to run.


	9. Chapter 9

Everything For A Price

By. Tate Icasa

Chapter Nine:

The digital matrix formed first. It flickered once before being overlaid with color.

Fronz Hopper glaced at them, then at his hands.

"Good." He said.

"Excuse me?" Elisabeth asked. "Do you know if Aelita, Yumi, and Samantha are alive?"

Fanx Happer nodded.

"They live. . ."

"But?" Odd prompted.

Hopper seemed to deflate.

"But only two of them can be saved."

"What? Why?"

"Come with me." Hopper said. He turned and stepped through a door, Odd and Elisabeth at his heels.

The room was quite small.

In the center of the room were three glass-like cubes. Inside each one was one of the girls.

Odd froze.

"I've been able to preserve them so far, but I can't hold them long. There's only enough memory in the system to save two of them."

"What happens when you save one?" Odd asked, his mouth dry.

"The glasses will fracture. Instantly, the passage of time will catch them. They will age to where - rather, when, they whould be, and will instantly be materialized. No choose. Which of them will you save?"

"Samantha and. . .?" Elisabeth prompted.

"No."

"What?" Elisabeth asked.

"No." Odd said, stronger this time. "Save Aelita and Yumi."

"B-but-" Elisabeth began, but she was cut off.

"Save Aelita and Yumi."

Franz Hopper nodded and activated the interface.

"Are you sure, Odd?" Elisabeth asked.

"I have to do this."

She met his eyes and then nodded.

"Milly, materialize us first." Odd said.

"One trip to Earth, coming up." Milly said brightly.

Odd looked down at his feet as they disappeared.


	10. Chapter 10

Everything For A Price

By. Tate Icasa

Chapter Ten:

Odd stuck his head out of the scanner, gasping.

"I'd forgotten this part."

"Clear the scanners." Tamiya said from the elevator.

"Tamiya, go get Ulrich and Jeremy. Don't tell them what's going on, but get them here."

Tamiya nodded, and left.

One of the scanners opened and Franz Hopper stepped out.

"Their freedom is tied to the super-calculator." He said. "But I wish to be here when my daughter is materialized."

"Milly can press the button." Odd said.

Less than one hour later, Tamiya arrived, Jeremy and Ulrich behind her.

"This better be important, Odd." Ulrich growled.

Odd chose not to answer.

"Milly?" Elisabeth suggested.

"Done." Milly said.

The two closed scanners flashed and hissed open.

Curled inside the bottom of one was a twenty-three year old Aelita. In the other was a twenty-four year old Yumi.

Ulrich's eyes widened and he was instantly at Yumi's side.

Jeremy turned to Odd. "Thank you." He whispered before joining Franz Hopper by Aelita's side.

Yumi's eyelids fluttered and she looked up at Ulrich.

"Ulrich? What happened?"

Aelita opened her eyes, looked back and forth between her father and Jeremy as if trying to decide which one to greet first.

Odd watched them as long as he could, a lump forming in his throat before he left the room.

"Aelita." Jeremy said after a second. "We thought. . ."

She looked at him. "How long?"

Jeremy swallowed. "Five years."

"Five. . .years?" Then she smiled. "Thank you for waiting for me." She embraced him.

Franze Hopper put one hand on her shoulder and another on Jeremy's.

"You have my blessing."

She looked at him.

"Yumi." Ulrich said, almost tonelessly. "We thought you were dead."

"Dead?" She asked sitting up.

He nodded.

"I heard Jeremy yell. He was unconscious."

"Odd got there in time. But he waited. We thought he'd killed you."

"You never forgave him."

Ulrich turned.

"He's gone!"

"I'll go after him." Elisabeth offered and took off.


	11. Chapter 11

Everything For A Price

By. Tate Icasa

Chapter Eleven:

"Odd! _Odd!_" Elisabeth called, looking for him.

She found him flicking pebbles off the bridge.

"What're you doing out here?" She asked.

He shrugged.

She stood next to him for a minute.

"You're not happy." She said finally.

He shrugged again.

"It's Jeremy and Aelita, Ulrich and Yumi, Odd and. . .and. . .I killed her twice now." He closed his eyes, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I killed her twice."

"You had no choice." Elisabeth said finally.

He turned and looked at her blankly for a second.

"That doesn't make it hurt any less." He said.

"No, I suppose it doesn't." After a second, "I'm sorry."

He blinked. "For what?"

"For. . .for. . .I don't know." She admitted. "It just felt right to say it."

"Thank you." He said, and he looked back out across the bridge.

She looked at him a second more before following his gaze.

"What are you looking at?" She asked finally.

He shrugged.

She nodded, and turned to go.

His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

"Don't go."

She hesitated and then moved back so she was beside him again.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

He hesitated. "I'm alone."

"Not if you don't want to be."

He turned and stared at her in wonder.

"Don't tell me you didn't see it coming?" She said, alf laughing.

He shook his head dumbly.

She blinked and stared at him hard for a second, trying to see if he was joking or not.

"You're joking." She said. "You can't be _that_ dense."

The old Odd would have protested, made a joke.

He merely stared at her for a second, before turning back to the water.

She turned to leave again and realized he hadn't released her wrist yet. She allowed herself a small smile at that.

He sighed.

"Odd?"

He didn't answer.

"Odd?"

"You're standing here now. So, I'm not alone?" He said, sounding uncertain.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then why don't you tell me what you meant?"

She considered for a second. "Alright." She conceded, and leaned in to kiss him quickly. He met her halfway and caught her off guard.

When she finally pulled back he rocked back on his heels, looking extremely self-satisfied.

"You deliberately mis-interpreted what I said!" She accused laughing.

"Why, Elisabeth, how kind of you to notice."


End file.
